Michael Strobl
Retired United States Marine Corps officer
title: "Michael Strobl" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["united-states-marine-corps-officers", "american-military-writers", "1966-births", "living-people", "writers-guild-of-america-award-winners", "people-from-grand-junction,-colorado", "people-from-stafford,-virginia", "military-personnel-from-colorado"] description: "Retired United States Marine Corps officer" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Strobl" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Retired United States Marine Corps officer ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Michael R. Strobl, Ph.D. |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Grand Junction, Colorado |
| image | Michael R Strobl, Assistant Deputy Commandant, Manpower & Reserve Affairs.jpg |
| caption | Michael R. Strobl, PhD (2023) |
| Assistant Deputy Commandant | |
| Manpower & Reserve Affairs, USMC | |
| alma mater | Colorado Mesa University (BBA) |
| Averett University (MBA) | |
| Naval Postgraduate School (MS) | |
| George Mason University (PhD) | |
| module | {{Infobox military person |
| allegiance | United States |
| branch | |
| serviceyears | 1983–2007 |
| rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| battles | Operation Desert Storm |
| laterwork | |
| :: |
|name= Michael R. Strobl, Ph.D. |birth_date= |death_date= |birth_place= Grand Junction, Colorado |death_place= |image= Michael R Strobl, Assistant Deputy Commandant, Manpower & Reserve Affairs.jpg |caption=Michael R. Strobl, PhD (2023) Assistant Deputy Commandant Manpower & Reserve Affairs, USMC |alma mater= Colorado Mesa University (BBA) Averett University (MBA) Naval Postgraduate School (MS) George Mason University (PhD) | module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes |allegiance= United States |branch= |serviceyears= 1983–2007 |rank= Lieutenant Colonel |unit= |battles= Operation Desert Storm |awards= |laterwork= Michael R. Strobl (born 1966){{cite web |accessdate=April 14, 2025 |url=https://www.whatsoproudlywehail.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Strobl_A-Marines-Journey-Home.pdf |title=A Marine's Journey Home |first=Michael R. |last=Strobl |publisher=What So Proudly We Hail}} is an author and retired U.S. Marine Corps officer from Stafford, Virginia. Since 2021, he has been serving as the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Headquarters, United States Marine Corps.{{cite web|accessdate=April 14, 2025 |url=https://www.manpower.marines.mil/About/Leaders/Biography/Article/3355429/assistant-deputy-commandant-manpower-reserve-affairs/ |title=SES Michael R. Strobl, Ph.D., Assistant Deputy Commandant, Manpower & Reserve Affairs|publisher=Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps}}
Early life
Michael Strobl was born in 1966 in Grand Junction, Colorado. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1983, at age 17.
He earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration (BBA) degree from Colorado Mesa University, a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Averett University, a Master’s of Science (MS) degree in Manpower Systems Analysis, with distinction, from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.
Career
Commission and tours
He was commissioned as second lieutenant in December 1987, with the MOS of artilleryman. During Operation Desert Storm, he was deployed to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, serving in both the 13th and 15th Marine Expeditionary Units. He served as an artillery platoon commander with the 11th Marines, battery commander with the 12th Marines, and Battalion Operations Officer and Regimental Fire Direction Officer with the 10th Marines.
His later tours included roles as instructor and Staff Platoon Commander at The Basic School; Assistant Operations Officer, Total Force Structure Division (MCCDC); and Head, Officer Distribution Branch at HQMC, Manpower & Reserve Affairs.
After retiring from the Marine Corps in 2007, Strobl accepted a position as an Operations Research Analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation) at the Pentagon. While serving at CAPE, he was the lead analyst on military manpower and compensation issues, as well as the Defense Health Program. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in September 2016 and served as the Deputy Director, Manpower Plans and Policy Division until assuming his current position as Assistant Deputy Commandant, Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps, in August 2021.
Escort for Chance Phelps
LtCol Strobl was the final military escort for the remains of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps,{{efn-ua|At the time of his death, Phelps was a private first class (PFC). He was posthumously promoted to Lance Corporal.{{cite web|accessdate=April 14, 2025 |url=https://honorbell.org/chance-phelps-honor-bell-artifacts/|title=Chance Phelps' Honor Bell Artifacts|first=Web|last=Welder|date=March 19, 2016|publisher=HonorBell.org}}}}{{cite web|access-date=April 14, 2025 |url=https://www.war.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/3586998/with-dignity-and-care-inside-the-process-of-bringing-our-overseas-fallen-home/ |title=With Dignity and Care: Inside the Process of Bringing Our Overseas Fallen Home|date=January 10, 2024 | first=Katie |last=Lange |work=DOD News|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense}} a Marine killed in the Iraq War on April 9, 2004, outside Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
At the time, Strobl assigned to the Combat Development Command in Quantico, working as Marine Corps manpower analyst. After reading a Department of Defense press release about Phelps’ death, which listed Clifton, Colorado as his hometown—a suburb of Strobl’s own hometown of Grand Junction—Strobl volunteered to escort Phelps’ remains from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to their final resting place. However, Phelps had only lived in Clifton for his senior year of high school. His final destination and resting place would be Dubois, Wyoming, where he spent his early childhood.
During the trip, Strobl kept a diary of his experience. After returning home, he wrote an essay from the notes in the diary and shared it with Phelps' father, John. Strobl's 12-page narrative essay followed his journey with the remains of Lance Corporal Phelps from the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base to Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Billings, Riverton, and Dubois. With the approval of John Phelps, a condensed version of the essay appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 2, 2004, titled "A Marine's Journey Home". Subsequently, a longer version of the essay appeared in the July 2004 issue of Marine Corps Gazette as "Taking Chance".
Strobl's essay was the basis for the 2009 HBO film, Taking Chance. Strobl was portrayed in the film by Kevin Bacon. Strobl, along with the film's director, Ross Katz, wrote the screenplay for the film. Subsequently, he and Katz won the Writers Guild of America Award in Long Form Adaptation in Television at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2009 and were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special.
Decorations and awards
::data[format=table] | | [[File:Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) ribbon.svg|106px]] | [[File:Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) ribbon.svg|106px]] | |---|---|---| ::
::data[format=table]
| Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 2 service stars | Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) | Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |
|---|---|---|
| :: |
Strobl received the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award for Excellence in the Arts at the organization's national convention in Louisville, Kentucky in August 2009.
End notes
References
References
- Rich, Colleen Kearney. (November 1, 2010}}{{Dead link). "Patriot Profile: Michael Strobl". Mason Spirit.
- "Michael R. Strobl, Ph.D. biography".
- Strauss, Gary. (2009-02-19). "Marine officer went the distance in 'Taking Chance'". USA Today.
- link. (2009-02-17 by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (ret))
- "Taking Chance Home".
- (3 January 2024). "Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl". The Stafford County Historical Society.
- Foundas, Scott. (Feb 18, 2009). "Coming Home: Taking Chance Writer Lt. Col. Michael Strobl and Producer-Director Ross Katz on the Iraq Movie About America". LA Weekly.
- Rich, Colleen Kearney. (November 1, 2010). "Patriot Profile: Michael Strobl". George Mason University.
- Strobl, Michael R.. (May 2, 2004). "A Marine's journey home". San Francisco Chronicle.
- (July 2004). "Taking Chance". Marine Corps Gazette.
- (27 May 2006). "Chance Phelps". KMIR TV.
- "HBO Official web page for Taking Chance". Max (formerly HBO).
- Shales, Tom. (February 21, 2009). "HBO's 'Chance' Finely Renders Solemn Honor For Fallen Troops". [[Washington Post]].
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